


it’s too late (to turn back now)

by stebeee



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Shao Fei being dumb, Tang Yi being even dumber, Zhao Zi being a really good bro and coming through for Shao Fei, brief unelaborated non-con scene btw Tang Yi & Ah De from Ep 7, fluff at the end!, they deserve each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22417405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stebeee/pseuds/stebeee
Summary: “I’m thankful that you saved Hong Ye, but… I think it’s best if we don’t have anything to do with each other after this.”Whatever it was that Shao Fei thought he would hear, this was not it.Or, Tang Yi decides to push Shao Fei away for good after he gets shot, rooftop kiss doesn’t happen because Tang Yi is a fucking dumbass and Shao Fei needs to find some other way to confess and win the love of his life over.
Relationships: Jack | Fang Liang Dian & Zhao Li An | Zhao Zi, Meng Shao Fei & Zhao Li An | Zhao Zi, Meng Shao Fei/Tang Yi, Offscreen Zhao Zi/Jack
Comments: 30
Kudos: 298





	it’s too late (to turn back now)

**Author's Note:**

> For anon who asked: If SF hadn't kissed TY on the roof of the hospital, how would things have gone between them? TY might have sent SF away to protect him (in fact he was saying "live your life well, do it for me too”), but SF would not give up. When do you think they confessed their love?
> 
> When the trailer for the rooftop-kiss scene happened ISTG anon’s thoughts ran through my mind and I panicked and yelled on Tumblr for a while, so yes. This is for that. It also means we get “this is the last button” scene a little later, but it’s worth it, I hope! I tried to keep to the show's original script at the necessary parts, but everything else is another take in ep 7 of the show.
> 
> tl:dr - a re-write of the rooftop-kiss scene, with a dash more angst and misery, but there's a happy ending at the end and we can all continue with shao fei investigating tang yi's birth and tang yi being all worried for his missing bf as in the drama XD

“Thank you for saving Hong Ye,” Tang Yi says to him.

It’s a little breezy on the rooftop of the hospital, but Shao Fei does not feel the cold much, not when Tang Yi sat at his bedside for the night and was still there when he woke up in the morning. Not when Tang Yi so gently draped his jacket over his shoulders. The hope that Tang Yi might return his feelings comes back — there is a lot of that recently, with every lingering look Tang Yi has for him, the way he smiles at him… Every moment gives him hope, just like right now.

“I’m the police, this is what I’m supposed to do,” Shao Fei smiles, looking out into the distance. “Don’t worry about it.”

He exhales, trying to calm his racing heart. He wants so much to be able to tell Tang Yi how much he likes him, he really, really does-

“But I hope there will be no next time,” Tang Yi continues, interrupting Shao Fei's thoughts. He pauses for a moment, as if considering, and then with a sharp inhale, he adds, “There _will not_ be a next time.”

Realizing the change in the man’s tone, Shao Fei frowns slightly. Confused at Tang Yi’s deliberate change of words, he looks at Tang Yi, who is looking out at the view as well.

He is silent for a moment, and just as Shao Fei opens his mouth to ask him what he means, Tang Yi speaks again.

“I’m thankful that you saved Hong Ye, but… I think it’s best if we don’t have anything to do with each other after this.”

Whatever it was that Shao Fei thought he would hear, this was not it.

“Tang Yi-“

Tang Yi stands, straightening his suit at he does so, and when he turns around to look at Shao Fei again, Shao Fei feels his blood turn to ice. There’s nothing friendly on Tang Yi’s face, and it is as if the time they spent together in the past few weeks did not happen, because this- _this Tang Yi_ looking at him is the Tang Yi he knew before the incident on the mountain.

Shao Fei cannot read Tang Yi like this. Something in his chest squeezes tight in panic. 

“Tang Yi, what do you mean-“

“I think you’ve fooled around for long enough,” Tang Yi interrupts, his voice cold, nothing like the man who had dabbed at his lips with a cotton bud last night, the man who had smiled at him when he made the cannon joke.

“You’ve disrupted my life, and the life of my family and friends in the past few weeks, Meng Shao Fei. This has gone for long enough,” he continues, unwavering. “I don’t want to have anything more to do with you. Take a good rest here in the hospital, and I’ll get someone to pack up your things back at the house. Jack will deliver it back to your apartment.”

Every word cuts at him, and Shao Fei is left breathless in the wake of it all. Is he hearing things? Shock morphs quickly into anger, because how could Tang Yi just… cut him loose? After he took a bullet for Zuo Hong Ye no less!

“Tang Yi, are you kidding me? What’s wrong with you?”

Tang Yi levels a cool stare at Shao Fei. 

“Nothing's wrong with me. As a police officer, you barged your way into my house with an application I did not submit, and I’m simply asking you to leave, as I should have the first time you turned up at my house. You being around me has put everyone I love and everything I worked so hard for in danger, do you understand that? I thought about it, and I simply cannot let this go on for any longer.”

“Tang Yi, you’re still a target. Someone is out there trying to kill you and you’re not being truthful about what happened four years ago, and now that I’ve taken a bullet for your sister you’re telling me that I’m the problem?! I don’t believe you. Yesterday you-“

Shao Fei cuts himself off right there, eyes wide, staring at Tang Yi.

_Yesterday, you were there for me,_ he so desperately wants to say, y _ou looked so good in the dim light, and there’s something between us you can’t deny that!_

And yet, Tang Yi is standing right here before him as cold and unmoving as stone, telling him otherwise.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe,” Tang Yi states, leaving no room for arguments. “Meng Shao Fei. This is my very last warning. Stay away from me. If anyone else I care for gets hurt because of you, I won’t be as forgiving.”

Every breath hurts, and Shao Fei finds himself at a loss for words even as Tang Yi walks away, leaving him up on the roof alone. He is reeling, because everything was so different an hour ago. 

How did everything go so wrong?

_If anyone else I care for gets hurt because of you, I won’t be as forgiving._

_You being around me has put everyone I love and everything I worked so hard for in danger._

Shao Fei recalls those lines bitterly. All he wants is just- All he wants is for Tang Yi to look at him, to see him, to actually _like him,_ but just as he expected, how would Tang Yi return his feelings when he doesn’t even regard him as a friend? He wanted a confirmation of where he stood with Tang Yi, and he got that today alright.

Tang Yi does not care for him, much less love him.

That realization is a sucker punch to the gut, and Shao Fei _cannot breathe._

If it was any other day, if he was not hurt, Shao Fei would chase after Tang Yi and demand to know what the hell the man was thinking, but the fact is Shao Fei is in pain, and he is in no condition to run after Tang Yi as usual. All he can do is pathetically sit here, rejected by the person he likes.

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

Jin Tang is present when Tang Yi leaves the rooftop area, leaning against the wall opposite, and Tang Yi does not have to ask to know that the doctor heard everything.

“Ah Yi. Is this wise?” Jin Tang asks, biting at his lips.

Jin Tang cannot see Tang Yi’s face, but the lines of his back are rigid, so stiff that if Jin Tang reaches out to touch him, he might actually break. Years of being around Tang Yi has taught Jin Tang how to read Tang Yi like a book, and right now, Tang Yi is _hurting._

“Ah Yi, you… you obviously feel something for him,” Jin Tang finds himself stepping in, because he cannot bear to see Tang Yi like this. “It’s not a good idea, pushing him away right now. He took a bullet for Zuo Hong Ye, and you’re just… leaving him alone?”

Tang Yi does not reply him for a long moment, and when the lift comes up, Jin Tang is ready to give up. He has said his piece, and Tang Yi has always done as wants, the stubborn fool.

Right before the lift doors close, Tang Yi says, “He’s safer not being around me.”

The doors slide shut the next second. Jin Tang looks between the lift and a still-stunned Meng Shao Fei seated outside in the cold. Shaking his head, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and quickly dials for Jack.

He is surrounded by dumbasses, the lot of them.

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

Shao Fei does not know how long he sits there, but when he finally comes back to himself, Zhao Zi is kneeling in front of him, his face filled with panic as he wraps a blanket around Shao Fei.

“Ah Fei, what the-“ Zhao Zi exhales, his eyes wide. “Ah Fei, what happened? I was- Jack left suddenly, and I didn’t see you anywhere! Where’s Tang Yi? You’re freezing, Ah Fei, you’re shaking. We’ve got to go back in. Are you hurt anywhere?” 

When Shao Fei stays silent and continues to stare at him, Zhao Zi begins to rub his hands up and down Shao Fei’s arms, trying to warm him up. 

“Ah Fei, talk to me! You’re- you’re scaring me.”

His eyes burn as they fill with tears. Shao Fei jerks then, looking away. He presses the heels of his palms to his eyes, trying to ignore the memory of Tang Yi basically telling him to fuck off from earlier.

“Ah Fei, what- are you hurting anywhere? Where does it hurt? You’re-“

Any other time, Shao Fei would tease Zhao Zi for being all flustered, but right now Zhao Zi’s concern only hurts him more.

“Can we just go back?” Shao Fei asks, suddenly weary. Then for good measure, he adds, “I feel cold.”

Zhao Zi helps him into bed back in the ward, and honestly Shao Fei has no energy except to curl up under the covers. Mistaking the movement for Shao Fei feeling cold, Zhao Zi rushes to the closet at the end of the room and pulls out another blanket, then piles it on Shao Fei.

“Ah Fei, I’ll go call Dr. Jiang-“

“I’m fine,” Shao Fei cuts him off, hiding more under the covers. “I just need to rest.”

As tired as he is, Shao Fei finds himself unable to just switch his mind off and slip into the embrace of sleep. He floats instead, somewhere in between sleep and consciousness, unaware of time passing. When he finally surfaces again, he sees Zhao Zi seated on the chair next to his bed.

The very spot Tang Yi was seated in last night.

Shao Fei lifts his head up to look at his partner, his throat feeling a little dry. When he does that, however, he flinches at the look on Zhao Zi’s face.

Zhao Zi looks _pissed._

“How dare he?!” Zhao Zi huffs, crossing his arms before his chest and looking like a really, really cute, angry chihuahua, in Shao Fei’s opinion. “You took a bullet for his sister, and he just… abandons you up on the roof? You’ve worked so hard for him for the past few weeks and he’s just throwing you out?! Jack just brought your things over, and Ah Fei, don’t worry, I won’t let him do this to you-“

And despite how cold he felt earlier, Shao Fei feels a laugh bubbling from his chest at the sight of his partner, _his best friend who left him to kidnappers on a mountain and who’s afraid of Tang Yi,_ being all ruffled on his behalf. The knot in his stomach eases just a tiny, tiny bit.

“What’re you going to do, go to his house with guns all blazing?” Shao Fei finds himself snorting. “No need to get angry. It’s not his fault he… doesn’t like me back. Maybe he’s right. If I wasn’t… If I didn’t turn up at his house, maybe none of this would have happened.”

“You don’t know that!” Zhao Zi exclaims, getting to his feet. “Ah Fei, don’t you dare feel sorry for yourself. You’re not allowed to wallow in self-pity, you hear me? Who the hell does Tang Yi think he is? Making you cry? I’m going to tell Chief-“

Shao Fei tugs at Zhao Zi’s arm, _hard,_ and the man falls back on the chair. 

“What are you going to tell him? Chief is only going to scold me because he was right. Calm down, no need to go start a war with Tang Yi, especially because you’re going to lose in like three seconds.”

Zhao Zi has the gall to look affronted at that. 

“I’d last at least three minutes.”

“Whatever you say,” Shao Fei scoffs.

As he sits up in bed, however, Shao Fei considers Zhao Zi’s words. For a moment there, he was actually feeling quite sorry for himself. With Zhao Zi getting angry on his behalf, the anger he felt earlier at Tang Yi’s words unfurls in his chest.

Zhao Zi is right. Who the hell does Tang Yi think he is? The fucking dumbass. Shao Fei has no idea why he fell for the man. That aside, he took a bullet for Zuo Hong Ye, and the least Tang Yi could have done was wheel him back into the damn ward before rejecting him, but the man leaves him up there in the cold. 

He is _never_ going to talk to Tang Yi again, Shao Fei sulks.

_Weren’t you going to find out the truth around Li Zhen Jie’s death,_ a tiny, evil voice whispers.

Shao Fei squashes that thought viciously in his head.

“Hold on…” Zhao Zi speaks again, and Shao Fei looks at him. 

“Did you just say… _like you back?_ Ah Fei, hold on a second, that means… that means, you like him? You _like him?_ Ah Fei, what the hell, explain yourself, you _like Tang Yi?_ I mean, yeah he’s handsome enough, but I thought- You really like him? For real? Ah Fei answer me- _”_

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

Two days later, against Dr Jiang’s advice, Shao Fei discharges himself from the hospital and heads home. And against Chief’s orders, he actually goes back to work on the third day. Zhao Zi glares at him futilely because they are seated back to back and Shao Fei does not turn around to look at him, while Yu Qi and even Chief fusses about him, even when Shao Fei assures them for the thousand time that he is alright.

Shao Fei frowns when he catches sight of Zhao Zi googling _‘how much bedrest is required for a gunshot wound’_ on his work computer a few hours later.

No one mentions the pink elephant in the room - Tang Yi. Not even Chief, even though he keeps shooting furtive glances at Shao Fei, and then levels a suspicious gaze onto Zhao Zi, as if all this is his fault.

It’s on the same day that a bloodied and beaten man turns up on the doors of the station, barely alive. As the man is whisked off to the hospital nearby, Chief and the rest of the team look at the note which came with the man, identifying him as the gunman who shot Shao Fei.

And despite everything, despite all that Tang Yi said a few days ago to hurt him, Shao Fei feels his traitorous little heart leap. As soon as it does that, however, he scolds himself for being weak. The man was shooting at Zuo Hong Ye. Tang Yi did this for her, not for him.

Or did he?

He ends up thinking about it for a whole week after, and no matter how much he years to go and take a look at Tang Yi, to resume his daily stalking routine especially when he knows exactly where Tang Yi is at any given time of the day (and more now, since he’s privy to many more of Tang Yi’s habits ever since moving in with him). Shao Fei is pretty proud of himself for not giving in.

His dumb heart wants what it wants though, and Shao Fei hates it for being dumb.

He is very sure Zhao Zi knows exactly what he’s doing — Zhao Zi has taken it upon himself to follow him everywhere since his discharge, and his partner has chosen this period of time to be his vigilant self (where was he when he was kidnapped on the mountain huh?), which means Shao Fei has a pretty tough time throwing the man off his trail. So Zhao Zi ends up following him to the supermarket where he buys ingredients, unmistakably for a cake.

“If you want to see him so much why don’t you just go and find him?” asks Zhao Zi quietly on the way home, driving Shao Fei’s car.

Looking resolutely out of the window, Shao Fei does not want to answer him. He does not even want to _think_ about it, because if he thinks about it all he can remember is how dumb he was for not seeing it coming, for harbouring hope on something one-sided. 

Yet, he is intending to bake a cake for Tang Yi’s birthday.

In his memory, Tang Yi has not celebrated his birthday in the past four years, not since Tang Guo Dong died on that day. He remembers the confusion he felt, because surely someone as successful and handsome as Tang Yi, surrounded by so many brothers, Zuo Hong Ye and his many friends, would be celebrated on the day of his coming into this world. 

Year after year, however, Shao Fei realized that Tang Yi always spent his birthdays alone. No parties, no one in the house even, all by himself.

His heart aches for Tang Yi even after all this time. Shao Fei knows what it is like to be alone on this day.

After he bakes the cake, a few hours later, Shao Fei has another problem.

How is he going to give Tang Yi the cake when the man had all but thrown him out on his ass on the streets outside? No doubt there would be guards at the door, and no one sane is going to let him in lest catch Tang Yi’s ire. 

So sitting in his car, a block away from Tang Yi’s house on the curb with the cake sitting in the seat next to him, Shao Fei wonders what his plan was earlier when he decided to bake a fucking cake for his crush, who already made it clear that he did not want him around. 

Any other day, without a hole in his abdomen, Shao Fei might be able to move around a little more flexibly, or have the strength to push his way in, and demand that Tang Yi come out and talk to him.

His injury kind of aches, though. Shao Fei really does not know if he can take another rejection from Tang Yi.

Three knocks on his car window the next second has Shao Fei startling, his knees coming up enough to hit the steering wheel. Hissing at the pain over his knees, Shao Fei winds down the window, and blinks when he sees Jack leaning casually agains the car.

“You know that Zhao Zi set up cameras pretty high up right? High enough that we’ve got a two block radius view around the mansion?” the ex-mercenary grins.

Shao Fei looks around him, suddenly flustered. “I-“

“Boss is in his room and the men on surveillance have been sent away by me,” Jack continues. His eyes move from Shao Fei to the box next to him on the passenger’s seat. “You know, I thought Zhao Zi wasn’t going to talk to me anymore after he yelled at me for letting Boss throw you out. I’m glad he called and since he’s talking to me again, I’m going to do you a favour.”

“Zhao Zi?” Shao Fei winces. “What did he tell you? I’m not… I’m not here. For Tang Yi.” Then at Jack’s incredulous look, he insists, “I’m not!”

“Whatever it is, Zhao Zi very nicely called to request that you be let inside without getting shot at, so I’m inclined to do you this favour,” Jack gestures for Shao Fei to get out of the car. 

“I’ve dismissed the four guards at the gate temporarily. I’ve also sent Li Zhi De on an errand, so you’ve got about five minutes. I doubt you’ll make it up to Boss’ room, because he’s sent even all the rest of us away, but if you wanted to leave him something at the door and poke at the doorbell, you’re welcomed to do so.”

Shao Fei stares at Jack suspiciously.

“The clock is ticking,” Jack sighs, putting up his hands. “It’s up to you, but I’d say you have a really small window of time before Li Zhi De comes back and snatches the cake up instead of letting Tang Yi come downstairs and grab it.”

The mention of Li Zhi De has Shao Fei scrambling out of the car with the cake the next moment.

Under Jack’s supervision, Shao Fei manages to hook the clear plastic bag holding the cake box on the door knob. It takes him three deep breaths to poke at the doorbell. Once, twice, and then a third time, to make sure Tang Yi comes downstairs. Once he hears the telltale thumps of footsteps, Shao Fei ducks out of sight behind some bushes. Jack is hidden by a pillar, and he looks at Shao Fei with a bit of disdain for choosing that hiding spot.

Still, the both of them watch as Tang Yi opens the door. The man finds the bag outside, and after several suspicious looks around, he picks the bag up and heads back inside. 

Shao Fei drinks in the sight of Tang Yi — that white turtleneck, those earrings and just… just _Tang Yi_ — and notices the man’s slightly red eyes.

Tang Yi has been crying.

“You sure you don’t want to see him?” Jack asks carefully, his response measured. “You’re already here.”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” Shao Fei snaps back, his sharp glare dull because of the dark circles under his eyes. “He’s the one who told me he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me ever again. Well tough, because I’m definitely going to find out what happened four years ago even if he does this.”

“And yet,” Jack gestures to Shao Fei’s presence, “You’re here. And you came with a cake." 

With that, Jack moves out from his spot and heads towards the manor. That is when Shao Fei remembers what Jack told him about having only a few minutes, which means he has to get out of here, fast.

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

As Shao Fei darts across the courtyard and out the gates, Jack watches the police officer go until he’s entirely out of sight, then shakes his head.

“If they don’t get together soon, it’ll be tough for me to woo the shorty,” he mumbles under his breath.

Upstairs, Tang Yi opens the box with a frown on his face. Objects from his childhood are still splayed out over the table where he was looking at them earlier, including a birthday party hat from so, so long ago.

The cake is… hideous, but Tang Yi knows exactly who it is from.

There’re candles and a lighter in the bag too, along with a note. Tang Yi heads out to the balcony, and even if it was he who told Shao Fei not to ever turn up again where he can see him, it is Tang Yi who strains his neck and looks about for a glimpse of Shao Fei. Disappointment fills him immediately when he does not.

The driveway is dark, and there is no one around, save for the guards right at the gate. He has an inkling as to how Shao Fei got in, but he will get to that tomorrow morning.

Leaning over the railings of the balcony, Tang Yi opens the note. In simple and neat handwriting, the note simply says _happy birthday_ and nothing else. He has never seen Shao Fei’s handwriting, but he knows that Shao Fei wrote this.

And even though he knows he should not, Tang Yi eats a slice of the cake anyway.

It is the first time in a few years since someone gifted him with a birthday cake. Not for the lack of trying on Hong Ye’s part, but since Boss Tang died, Tang Yi did not want to celebrate his birthday anymore. Boss Tang, who gave him a home, made the birthday meaningful.

This year on his birthday, Tang Yi is reminded that he will be alone for many more years to come, as much as he wishes he could have Shao Fei at his side for every one of his birthdays from now on.

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

He makes up his mind to resume tailing Tang Yi. After all, Shao Fei is on a mission still to find out who Li Zhen Jie’s killer is, and even if Tang Yi wants him gone, Shao Fei is not prepared to give up. He has persevered for the past four years, what’s another day, another week, another year to him?

Besides, after seeing Tang Yi’s red-rimmed eyes last night, and thinking about Tang Yi possibly throwing his cake out, Shao Fei cannot help but worry. It’s not Tang Yi’s fault that Shao Fei likes him and not his fault either that he doesn't like Shao Fei back.

He is much better at sneaking around this time, aware that if Tang Yi catches him one more time, this time it might be the end for them both. 

Shao Fei doesn’t want that. Even if he has to tail Tang Yi like he is some invisible cloak, Shao Fei is going to do it.

Halfway through the day, seeing Ah De drive Tang Yi around and spending time with Tang Yi? It makes Shao Fei want to punch his fist through a wall. Li Zhi De looks at Tang Yi differently, and Shao Fei knows that the man has loved Tang Yi for a while now. He never paid Ah De any mind though, so absorbed he was with Tang Yi, but now that he was removed from the picture, Shao Fei bets Ah De must be rather smug, the asshole.

He follows the car at a safe distance without being noticed, scowling darkly at it. 

_Stupid, dumb Tang Yi-_

It takes him another few minutes to realize that the route he is on right now is not the way to Tang Yi’s office. Shao Fei frowns, looking around as the car pulls off the main road to enter another neighbourhood. While it is not uncommon for Tang Yi to switch up his routine these days, Tang Yi is pretty predictable when it comes to the places he visits. Even if he changed his mind on going to the office, chances are he would be heading home. And if there was trouble at any one of his shops, well… this place is nowhere near where the main road is, that would bring them to any of those stores.

The car turns into a small road, and because of the distance Shao Fei is following the car at, he loses them as soon as he makes the same turn. Frustrated, Shao Fei drives on, making wild guesses at which possible turns Ah De could have taken and hitting dead ends twice. He finally gets himself out on a larger road ten minutes later, having lost the car for good.

Slamming his hand against the steering wheel, Shao Fei exhales, irritated beyond belief. 

For a moment, he does not notice the very car he’s chasing just parked in an alley on the next street over. The shouts, however, alert him.

Shao Fei leaves the car with wide eyes, and no, he is seeing this correctly. That is definitely Tang Yi’s car, and it looks like… are they fighting? In the backseat of the car?

His body is moving before his mind even processes what is happening before him. Sprinting, Shao Fei only wants to get to Tang Yi as soon as he can, and that’s when he sees the door of the car open on the other side. A body falls out, at as he gets closer he can see that it’s Ah De on the other side of the car, his arms flailing as he struggles. 

The door closer to Shao Fei’s side of the road opens then, and out stumbles Tang Yi.

“Tang Yi!” Shao Fei yells, stunned.

From his position on the ground, Tang Yi looks up at the sound of his name. 

Shao Fei slides to the ground on his knees once he nears Tang Yi, his hands reaching out to pull Tang Yi against him. 

“Tang Yi, what’s wrong?” Shao Fei asks, tipping Tang Yi’s head up so he can get a better look. “Are you hurt anywhere? What’s going on-“

Tang Yi’s eyes are glassy and unfocused, and the top few of his shirt buttons are loose, his tie nowhere to be seen. His eyes darting between Tang Yi and then Ah De, who is still writhing half in the air with the seat belt wound tightly around his neck, realization dawns upon Shao Fei immediately like a bucket of ice cold water to the face.

“Did he,” swallows Shao Fei with some difficulty, as he turns back to look at Tang Yi, “Did he-“

“Jack-“ Tang Yi breathes, trying to get his footing back despite his drugged state. “Shao Fei. I called-“

Shao Fei follows Tang Yi to his feet, but the man takes barely two steps before his legs give out again, only this time Shao Fei is there to catch him.

“Tang Yi! Don’t move, did he drug you? What did you take? Let me call an ambulance-“

“No ambulance,” Tang Yi says through gritted teeth, his eyes shut tight as he tries to just _breathe._ “No ambulance. Call Jack.”

He does as he’s told, pulling out his phone and dialling a familiar number. As he contacts Jack, Shao Fei sees Ah De struggle free of the seat belt. Their eyes meet, and cold, _cold_ fury burns in the pit of Shao Fei’s stomach seeing Ah De and knowing what he did to Tang Yi. 

Then Ah De turns on his heels and takes off in the opposite direction.

It takes Jack all but two minutes to get to them, and with him are four other brothers clad in all black suits. Jack gestures for two of them to give chase to Ah De once he sees the empty car, before coming over to Shao Fei and Tang Yi.

“How did you get here so fast?” asks Shao Fei, relieved.

“Boss already called me earlier when he felt that things were going wrong, and we’ve been suspecting Li Zhi De for a while, so I was nearby,” Jack answers idly, bending down to look Tang Yi over. “I’ve called Dr. Jiang over to the house, we should move him there.”

Without another word, Shao Fei picks an already unconscious Tang Yi up in his arms and heads straight for the car Jack came in.

“Jack Ge,” one of the men with him asks, a little hesitantly. “What do we do?”

“I’ll drive Boss back,” Jack decides, already following Shao Fei. “One of you help Xiao Yu and Da Hu out and find Li Zhi De. The other drive the other car back.”

Shao Fei is silent the entire trip back to the house, Tang Yi a deadweight against Shao Fei’s side. The police officer’s jaw is tight in anger, his knuckles white, settled on his laps and over Tang Yi’s shoulders. Jack can more or less guess what happened from the first phone call, when Tang Yi dialled for his number.

“We’ll get him,” is all Jack says.

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

Tang Yi wakes slowly.

It takes three blinks before his vision clears, with his limbs and head feeling a little sluggish. Shifting his whole body, Tang Yi turns his head, and freezes.

“You’re awake,” Shao Fei says, seated in a chair next to his bed. “Thirsty?”

“What are you doing here,” Tang Yi frowns. “I thought…”

It’s not right, for Shao Fei to be here. He hasn’t seen Shao Fei in days, so why is he here? Tang Yi would know, because he made sure of it.

Sitting up, Tang Yi pauses as his vision swims again.

“Hey, don’t get up so quick,” Shao Fei chides, reaching over to adjust the pillows behind Tang Yi’s back. “Dr. Jiang says you’ll feel better after some water.”

Jin Tang? Why would Jin Tang be here? 

And then the memories start coming back. He’s home, obviously. How long was he out for? Shao Fei was there to catch him earlier, which means…

“Where’s he,” Tang Yi asks flatly.

Shao Fei hesitates, then answers, “Jack’s got him downstairs.”

Tang Yi is on his feet in a split second and stalking off for the door, ignoring Shao Fei’s calls behind him.

_How dare he?_

His interrogation room downstairs is closed shut, but there are a dozen brothers standing outside, and Jack is seated at the table with his butterfly knife in his hands. The second they see him, every one of them straightens.

“Boss,” they greet.

“Get out,” Tang Yi orders, pushing past them all to head for the room.

Noise fills his ears as he pushes the door open. Tang Yi doesn’t really remember what happens next, only that he sees Li Zhi De on the chair all bloodied inside the room, and Tang Yi sees _red._ No one stops him as he gets the first few hits in with his fists.

“Li Zhi De! You’re getting bolder, attacking me?” snarls Tang Yi, tossing Ah De against the couch. 

“Everything I did, I did it for you!” Ah De pleads. 

“You were selling drugs behind my back,” Tang Yi scoffs, glaring at him, “working with those who are against the reform, and trying to have me killed? Is this what you call, ‘for me’?”

“I did not!” 

“That day in the carpark where those people followed and attacked me was from He Hang, and you were the one who gave He Hang my schedule!”

“I didn’t, it wasn’t me, how could I have let He Hang go and hurt you?”

In the haze of his fury, all Tang Yi knows is that he is going to pay Ah De back for his betrayal and for this humiliation, and nothing will make the anger go away until he makes Ah De feel the pain he feels.

“Tang Yi!” 

Arms circle around him and Tang Yi is forcibly pulled back. Struggling like a wild animal, Tang Yi snarls, but Shao Fei is stronger than he thought and manages to drag him out of the room, and Jack shuts the door behind them once they make it past the door’s threshold.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Tang Yi snaps, shoving Shao Fei away from him. “Do you know where you are right now?”

“I’m the police, I can’t let you just handle this personally,” Shao Fei insists.

“This is Xing Tian Meng business, what does this have to do with a police officer like you?”

Tang Yi pushes Shao Fei away again to the side without another thought, with so much force that Shao Fei stumbles back a few steps. The man is back and stopping him before his hand can touch the doorknob, however, and Shao Fei’s grip is firm too.

“Tang Yi! Is venting your anger out on Li Zhi De more important than completing Tang Guo Dong’s last wishes?” Shao Fei persists, looking into Tang Yi’s furious eyes. “Promise me, you can’t do this. Give him to the police, and I’ll handle it.”

When Tang Yi continues to stare at him in silent fury, Shao Fei calls him again, “Tang Yi!”

Shao Fei can see the way Tang Yi is trying to rein himself in, to control that impulsion to _hurt anything,_ to actually listen to him. He’s well aware that Tang Yi can at any point just push him off and have Jack throw him out. Again.

Only Tang Yi exhales shakily, and even though Shao Fei _knows_ he is still angry at Ah De, at him, Tang Yi shoves him at the shoulders lighter than Shao Fei expects, and moves past him to get away.

The thing is, Shao Fei hasn’t been very obedient in listening to Dr. Jiang’s instructions for caring for his wound. He is reminded very clearly of that fact when instead of righting himself from Tang Yi’s push, his legs won’t quite listen to him. Stumbling a few steps back like a clumsy idiot, he trips over a chair leg and pain burns from his back to his abdomen at his wound as he strikes against the edge of the table.

It’s all kind of a mess from there, really.

“Officer Meng, are you okay?” Jack asks, surprised at the bad fall.

Tang Yi, to his credit, stops in his footsteps when he hears the fall and turns around with wide eyes.

“Shao Fei,” he frowns, already going back to Shao Fei. "I didn’t push you that hard-“

In a few strides, he’s back crouching next to Shao Fei with wide, concerned eyes, not sure what to do. His arm goes around Shao Fei’s back, helping the man to sit up, with Shao Fei wincing with every movement. Tang Yi looks at Shao Fei, _looks at him properly this time,_ for the first time in a week.

Why didn’t he see how pale Shao Fei looked earlier? His lips are void of colour, and he’s sweating profusely. Tang Yi reaches for Shao Fei’s face unconsciously, feeling the urge to just _touch_ him. The hand he uses however, is wet with spots of red.

“Ah,” Shao Fei mumbles, looking down at himself at the same time Tang Yi does.

“He pulled his stitches out,” comes a voice from above them, and they both angle their heads upwards to see Jack retrieving a towel from one of the drawers. “I’m going to go call Dr. Jiang back.”

“Maybe discharging myself early wasn’t such a good idea,” winces Shao Fei as he adjusts his sitting position gingerly, and if he leans more into Tang Yi’s hold as he does so, Tang Yi doesn’t say anything.

“Are you fucking stupid?” snaps Tang Yi, turning livid eyes onto Shao Fei as the police officer’s comment sinks in. “Weren’t you supposed to stay in the hospital for a week at least?”

“I had to chase after you,” Shao Fei laughs weakly. “You just ran off without me. And threw me out. Asshole. I’ve got a hole in my stomach because of you and your sister and you just threw me out. Of course I had to chase after you. Good thing I did too, otherwise…”

“Chase after me,” Tang Yi repeats weakly, sitting down. “Of course you were. You were following me these few days. Today.”

“Of course! Why are you repeating what I said? Before you tell me the truth from four years ago, I’ll never, ever stop chasing you-“

“Are you kidding me? You could have been in real danger!” Tang Yi thunders, fighting the urge to shake some sense into Shao Fei. “You’ve been running around while injured, and-“

He squeezes Shao Fei’s arms, noting that the man is way thinner than he expected him to be. “And- What did you eat today?”

Shao Fei blinks. 

“I… I think, bread? Milk for breakfast, and… I don’t know, it’s been a chaotic day, okay? Is this really the time to go over my diet?” he looks away, sulking again. “And what, suddenly you care? Who’s the one who said he didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore?”

Then he squints at Tang Yi, suspicious, but also slightly hopeful, “Are you… worried about me?”

“Of course I’m worried-“ Tang Yi snaps, and when he realizes what he’s about to say, he shuts his mouth, but it’s too late.

“Hah! I knew it,” Shao Fei grins, almost moving to get up in his relief, only to hiss as the movement pulls at his already open wound.

“Stop moving, you idiot!”

Tang Yi applies more pressure over Shao Fei’s wound. Shao Fei’s hand closes around his wrist slowly, and Tang Yi looks from their hands, together, to Shao Fei.

“If you’re worried about me,” Shao Fei smiles, “Then don’t push me away. Promise me, Tang Yi.”

Conflicted, Tang Yi doesn’t know what to say. He wants to agree, he wants so much to say yes because in the week that Shao Fei was gone he saw Shao Fei in every nook and cranny of this house; he saw Shao Fei possibly being _here,_ home with him, for an even longer time. Being around Tang Yi, however, is only going to get Shao Fei killed, and he has had enough of losing the people he cares about.

“Tang Yi!” Shao Fei tugs at his sleeve, frowning. “Don’t push me away. _Please._ ”

When Shao Fei says his name, and then makes requests like this, Tang Yi doesn’t know if he should laugh or be very, very worried that he feels ready to say yes to anything Shao Fei asks for. It’s a wondrous feeling.

“I-“ he blinks once, then twice. “Alright.”

The smile that breaks out on Shao Fei’s lips the next second blinds Tang Yi, and he feels his heart skip a beat. Before he can decipher that little leap in his chest, however, Shao Fei leans up, and kisses him.

Kisses him fully, on the lips.

Tang Yi freezes where he is at the contact for a long, long while. 

“I’m chasing you for life, Tang Yi!” Shao Fei declares when he pulls away later.

Stunned, Tang Yi can only stare at Shao Fei quietly.

“Well, if they’re doing this,” the both of them flinch as a voice echoes through the room, “I’d say Officer Meng is well alive and will be able to live for a long while yet.”

“Jin Tang,” Tang Yi says, looking up to see his friend with undisguised relief. “He-“

“Don’t worry,” Jin Tang approaches them with a pretty impressive eye roll, and Shao Fei grimaces just as the doctor opens his mouth, “Meng Shao Fei! What did I tell you? I told you to stay put in the hospital didn’t I? Who the hell was the idiot who decided to check out a few days early? And not only did you manage to leave early, you still continue to be reckless. I thought you maybe had it under control earlier when I checked Ah Yi over but I’m proven right. Didn’t I tell you just to listen to me?”

Shao Fei looks at Tang Yi then, looking so pitiful and as if saying with those eyes, _help me out here._

Tang Yi raises an eyebrow in return, _you’re on your own._

_┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉_

Much, much later, after Shao Fei wakes up, they will talk about this. Tang Yi will tell him just how much change Shao Fei has brought to his life, how warm he feels whenever he is around him, and that he cares so much for Shao Fei. That it is because he cares so much for him that he would prefer Shao Fei not be around him, lest he becomes a target too. 

He can’t put to words what he feels for Shao Fei yet, but he is willing to try, if it’s with Shao Fei.

As Tang Yi watches over Shao Fei’s rest, he figures that if Shao Fei can still get into trouble like _this_ even without being right next to him, then…

... then Shao Fei might as well stay just right by his side, where he belongs.

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who haven't really seen the extra details from Trapped's novel and diary logbook, here it is:
> 
> Novel Translations - https://stebeee.tumblr.com/post/188301273868/stebeee-eng-history3-trapped-novel
> 
> Diary Logbook Translations - https://stebeee.tumblr.com/post/187879044513/masterpost-history3-trapped-diary-logbook-day
> 
> Feel free to hit me up on Tumblr for anything! XD


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